Agauopsis dasyderma, BARTSCH, 2003

BARTSCH, I., 2003, Mangrove halacarid fauna (Halacaridae, Acari) of the Dampier region, Western Australia, with description of five new species, Journal of Natural History 37 (15), pp. 1855-1877 : 1865-1868

Agauopsis dasyderma n. sp.

(figures 5, 6)

Material examined

H male, WAM T44103, Australia, Western Australia, east coast of the Burrup Peninsula, Watering Cove , turf on trunk of Avicennia marina , 27 July 2000, coll. I. Bartsch.

P: one male, WAM T44104 , one female, one deutonymph, WAM T44105, collecting data same as in holotype. One male, ZMH, collecting data same as in holotype .

Other material. One male, WAM T44106, one male, SMF, Australia, Western Australia, east coast of the Burrup Peninsula, Watering Cove , epibios (barnacles, mussels, turf) on underside of branches of Avicennia marina , 8 August 2000, coll. I. Bartsch.

Etymology. From dasys (Greek), hairy and derma (Greek), skin, because the integument is densely covered by a hairy epicuticula.

Description

Idiosoma 395–435 m m, that of holotype 418 m m long, 254 m m wide (figure 5A). Integument of dorsal plates pierced by tiny pores; pores more numerous and densely packed within slightly raised areas (figure 5D); each pore with epicuticular filament. AD 132 m m long, 132 m m wide, anterior margin rounded. Three raised areolae hardly demarcated, two ovate posterior ones extending to posterior margin of plate. Pair of gland pores delicate. OC 102 m m long, 86 m m wide; with two corneae, black eye pigment, gland pore and pore canaliculus. Triangular slightly raised areola lateral to corneae with tiny pores. PD 241 m m long, 167 m m wide; its posterior margin covered by fouling. V-shaped porose costa with delicate panelling. Costa one to two porose panels wide. Short porose areolae adjacent to lateral margin of PD hardly demarcated and intensely fouled. Dorsal setae short. Setae ds-1 on AD level with gland pores. Setae ds-2 and ds-3 within striated integument; ds-2 immediately anterior to OC and ds-3 between OC. Setae ds-4 within margin of PD; ds- 5 in anterior third of PD, within medial costae. Adanal setae near posterior margin of PD.

Ventral plates almost smooth at low magnification, with numerous small pits at high magnification. Striated integument and marginal portions of ventral plates villous (figure 5E). AE 157 m m long, 222 m m wide. Alveolus of epimeral pore opening with slit. PE 162 m m long. GA 185 m m long, 157 m m wide. Anterior margin truncate, lateral edges rounded (figure 5B). GO 55 m m long, 30 m m wide. Holotype with nine pgs close to GO, 43 pgs in a ring around GO and two peripheral setae. Genital sclerites with five pairs of sgs. Spermatopositor 102 m m long, 80 m m wide. GO with three pairs of internal genital acetabula (figure 5C).

Gnathosoma short, 92 m m long, 72 m m wide; rostrum short, triangular (figure 5F), 32 m m long. Tectum scaliform, rounded (figure 5G). One pair of maxillary setae on gnathosomal base, one pair in apical third of rostrum. Tip of rostrum with two pairs of rostral setae. Palps passing slightly beyond tip of rostrum. P-3 with truncate, apically dentate dorsomedial spine. P-4 short, with two setae in basal whorl (one long dorsal and one short ventromedial one) and three apical setae (figure 5H).

Leg I slightly wider than the other legs but shorter than legs III and IV. Areolae on lateral and dorsal flank of leg I (figure 5I) and II with canaliculi, porose areolae of legs III and IV on dorsolateral flank (figure 6D, E). Telofemur I 2.3 times longer than high; the following telofemora slender. Leg chaetotaxy, from trochanter to tarsus (spines in roman numerals): leg I, 1, 2, 4, 3 + II, 4 + III, 6 + I; leg II, 1, 2, 5, 5, 5, 4; leg III, 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 3; leg IV, 0, 2, 2, 3, 5, 3. Telofemur I lack spines. Pair of spines on genu I short, truncate, apically dentate. Tibia I with two ventromedial and one ventral spine; spines short, apically dentate. Tibiae II, III and IV with pair of ventral setae; setae on tibia II pectinate, these setae on tibiae III and IV slender and tapering. Tarsus I with pectinate ventromedial spine, two small eupathid ventral setae, tarsus I apically with pair of doubled eupathid pas, dorsolaterally with solenidion and lamellar famulus (figure 6C). Tarsus II with single lateral pas, one and a half medial pas and rod-like solenidion (figure 6F). On each of tarsi III and IV (figure 6G) lateral pas short, spiniform, medial pas lacking.

Claws on tarsus I very short, claws on following legs very long and slender.

Female. Idiosoma 390 m m long. Dorsal aspect same as that of male. Genital sclerites large, unilaterally with a single sgs. GA with four pairs of pgs (figure 5J), one pair removed from GO and three pairs close to GO. With three pairs of internal genital acetabula.

Deutonymph. Idiosoma 345 m m long, fouled. Dorsal plates slightly smaller than in male (relative to the size). Setae ds-3 within striated integument lateral to PD. GP and AP separate (figure 6H). GP with two pairs of setae and two pairs of internal genital acetabula. Leg chaetotaxy, from trochanter to tarsus (pas excluded, spines in roman numerals): leg I, 1, 2, 4, 3 + II, 4 + III, 6 + I (figure 6I); leg II, 1, 2, 5, 5, 4; leg III, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 3; leg IV, 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 3. Number and arrangement of setae on legs I and II same as in adults.

Remarks

Within the genus Agauopsis , A. dasyderma is unique in the combination of absence of spines on telofemur I and rostrum being triangular instead of parallelsided and terminating with a truncate apex. The two characters are suggestive of Halacarellus . As in the majority of Agauopsis , A. dasyderma bears epimeral pores on the AE and two setae in the basal whorl of P-4, whereas in Halacarellus epimeral pores generally are present only in larvae and P-4 have a basal whorl with three setae. Because of the epimeral pores and the reduced number of setae on P-4, the new species is attributed to Agauopsis .